Serranus tigrinus

Serranus tigrinus has a laterally compressed elongate body with a pointed snout which is shorter than the diameter of the eye. It has 3 clearly visible spines on the gill cover, the middle spine being straight. The margins of the preopercle are regularly serrated but there are no spines at its angle. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 12 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 7 soft rays. The caudal fin is slightly concave.{{cite web | url = https://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/3560 | title = Species: Serranus tigrinus, Harlequin bass | access-date = 10 September 2020 | publisher = Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | work = Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system}} This species has a black and white mottle pattern on its back and a yellow and black mottled pattern on the lower body.{{cite web | url = https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/385/?pcatid=385 | title = Harlequin Bass | access-date = 10 September 2020 | publisher = liveaquaria.com}} A black strip runs from the snout through the eye, and the chin and throat have large black blotches on a white background. There are 8 vertical black bars, 2 on the nape and 6 on the body. The caudal fin has a black bar at its base and the membrane is marked with black spots. The dorsal fin has two lines of black spots along it while the base of the anal fin has a single line of black spots. The maximum published total length is {{convert|29|cm|in}}.

Serranus tigrinus is a species of the western Atlantic Ocean where it is found throughout the Caribbean from southern Florida to Trinidad and Tobago, including the mainland coast from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico to Venezuela.

Serranus tigrinus is normally encountered as individuals or in pairs in the rocky parts of reefs or where there is scattered coral.{{cite web | url = https://www.whatsthatfish.com/fish/harlequin-bass/1555 | title = Harlequin Bass (Serranus tigrinus) | access-date = 10 September 2020 | publisher = WHATSTHATFISH}} It is found at depths of {{convert|0|to|40|m|ft}}. It is a carnivorous species, and hunts by drawing prey, usually small crustaceans, into its large mouth and swallowing it whole. This species is a synchronous hermaphrodite, which means that they have both male and female reproductive organs and can take on a male or female role in spawning; self fertilisation is possible as well.

File:D. Marcus Elieser Bloch's, ausübenden Arztes zu Berlin ... Oeconomische Naturgeschichte der Fische Deutschlands (20876997945).jpg

Serranus tigrinus was first formally described in 1790 as Holocentrus tigrinus by the German physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) with the type locality given in error as the "Indian Ocean".{{Cof record | spid = 16031 | title = Holocentrus tigrinus | access-date = 10 September 2020}}

Serranus tigrinus is found in the aquarium trade.{{cite web | url = https://www.masterfisch.co.uk/serranus-basses/839-harleking-sagebarsch.html | title = Harlequin bass | access-date = 10 September 2020 | publisher = Masterfisch}}

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harlequin bass

Category:Fish of the Caribbean

harlequin bass